Improvement in water-wheels



UNITED STAT-Es PATENT OEEIcE.

TITUS H. RUSSELL, OF NIORTHFIELD, .VERMONT IMPROVEMENT vIN WATER-WHEELS. y

Y Specification forming a part of Letters Patent No.l 34,696, datedMarch 18, 1862. y

To all whom t may concern,.-

Be it known 'that I, TITUs H. RUSSELL, of Northfield, in the county ofWashington and State of `Vermont, have invented a new and ImprovedWater-Wheel; and l do hereby declare that the following is a full,clearand exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in`whicl1vFigure l is a vertical section of Vmy invention, taken in theline x m,Fig. 2; Fig. 2, a horizontal section of the same, taken in the line y yby it; Fig. 3, an enlarged sectionof the gate, chutes, and wheel, takenin the curved line z e, Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a detached plan ortop view ofthe chutes; Fig. 5, a sidev view of a portion ofgate and chute-case;Fig. 6, a detached side view 'of the mechanism employed for raising andlowering the wheel and shaft; Fig. 7, a horizontal section of Fig. 6,taken in the line x Fig. 8, a detached plan or top view of the base ofFig. 6.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

Thisinvention relates to an improved waterwheel of that class which isplaced on a vertical shaft inclosed within a case, and is provide'd withan annular gate and chutes to direct the water properly to the buckets.

The invention consists in a peculiar arrangement ofthe chutes andbuckets of the wheel, as hereinafter shown and described, whereby it isbelieved that the water is made to act more efficiently upon the wheelthan hitherto.

The invention also consists in a novel arrangement of the gate, wherebythe same may be operated (opened and closed) with but little frictionand the bearing of the same on the chute-case regulated, as may berequired.

The invention also consists inl a peculiar mechanism employed forraising and .lowering the wheel and shaft, whereby the 'latter may bereadily. adjusted vertically for the purposeof admitting of the equal oruniform wearof gearing connected with the wheelshaft, or for otherpurposes hereinafter described.

The invention also consists in a novel way of packing the wheel, sothatthe same may run water-tight in the lower part of its case; and theinvention also consists in providing .BA l n A Athe case of the wheelwith a man-hole and having the tops of the chute-case provided with eyesand the topv of the wheel-*case provided with openings, all being sovarranged that the wheel may at 'any time be easily rendered accessible'for repairs.

l To enable those skilled in the art to fully I understand and constructmy invention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents a cylindrical case, which is clsed at its upper end by atopplate et and is provided at its lower end with an annular iiange b,the plate a and Iiange b being secured formed of a central hub f and rimg, with the buckets h interplaced between. The buckets are of concaveform, as shown clearly in Fig. 3,

their lower parts being rather less curved than their upper` parts andthe spaces between their lower ends, commonly termed issues, narrowerthan the orifices or spaces between their upper ends. The wheel D isfitted within the Iianges 0B, and the packing@ is made to presswater-tight against the rim g by forcing upward the iiange B by means ofthe screws d, the liange B expanding'the packing 4laterally and pressingit against the rim g.

The wheel D is itted'on a vertical shaft E,

which extends upward and centrally through the case A. The lower end orpart of the hub f of the wheel is made concave, so as to form alliollowsemi-sphere h', which is fitted on a'semi-.sphere z', that is placedcentrally at the bottom orbase of framing F, which supports the Hang-e band .case A. The semispherei is allowed to turn freely in the framing F,and on .the lower part of the semisphere there is secured a ring G, thelower edge of which is formed of inclined surfaces j, which rest oncorresponding surfaces 7c on the base of framing F.

(See Figs. 6 and 8.) The ringG has a toothed segment H attached to it,and into this segment H a pinion I gears, said pinion being at the lowerend of a vertical shaft J,which has its bearings in the flange b and topplate a of the case A.

' Within the caseA there are placed a series of chutes K, the upperparts Z of which are of curved form and thev lower parts m inclined,with parallel tops and bottoms. The lower parts m of the chutes K areinclined at such an angle as to direct the water at right angles to theupper parts of the buckets h of the wheel D, while the upper parts b areso curved that they will receive the water vertically through theorifices of the gate L and direct it to the lower partsm of the chuteswith the least possible friction. (See.l arrows, Fig. 3..) The chutes Kare in a circular plate or case M, which is provided with ears orflanges, through which screws u pass vertically and rest on the flangeb. (See Fig. l.) The chutes K- are directly over the bucketshof theWheel D-, and the upper surface of the chute-case M has recesses o init, so as to form two concentric annular projections p p, with radialribs` q between. (See Fig. 4.) p p and ribs q form a bearing-surface forthe gate L.

The gate L is of annular form, and it hasa rack r at its side, intowhich a pinion s gears,

' the latter being at the lower end of a vertical rod M', which passesthrough the top plate a, of the case A. The gate L is formed of anannular plate having holes or openings t in it, which correspond in formand dimensions tothe orifices of the chutes K. (See Fig. 2.)

The case A is provided-witha man-hole N,

which when not in use is provided with a suitable door, which may befitted water-tight to it and the top plate a of the case A has twoopenings u u made in it, which openings when not in use are illed orclosed by screws` n fv. The chute-case M has twoeyes or staples w wattached to it near its center, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The gate L has three horizontal strips or cleats O, attached to theouter surface at equal distances apart, and these strips or cleats aredirectly over curved ways P, which rest on vertical screws a', whichpass through the flange b. (See Fig. l.) Between the strips or cleats Oand the ways P friction-rollers c are placed. These friction-rollers cease the bearing of the gate L on the chute-case M, so i the recesses o,concentric proj ectionsp p, and radial projections q, as and for thepurpose that the gate may be turned and adjusted with the greatestfacilityand incase sand or any substance should chance to work its waybetween the gate Land the chute-case M the gate may be readily raised byturning the screwsa and the article or substance allowed to escape.

From this description it will be seen that i the wheel D and shaft E maybe readily raised'by turning the shaft J, and any gear in g connectedVwith the said shaft may be sub- The projections facility, the rollers Cobviating friction, while ljected to equal Wear, as the whole surface ofthe cogs or teeth may be acted upon by adjusting the shaft E from timeto time, and in case where a millstone is directly applied to shaft Esaid stone may be raised and lowered to graduate the iineness of thearticle being ground by adjusting shaft E, as specified. In case thewheel D should become clogged or choked with driftwood or any partspertaining thereto become deranged,it may be renderedvery accessible byopening the man-hole N and removing the screws or plugs o v from theholes u u in the top plate a, so that the ropes of a windlass may bepassed throughv said holes into the case A and said ropes connected tothe eyes or staples fw by a person in the case, the person passingthrough the manhole into the case. This arrangement admits of the gateand chute-case being readily V vraised so as to expose the wheel, noother parts requiring to be removed. The packing C, as previouslystated, may be adjusted water-tight around the wheel D by sim ply screw-A ing up the flange B, and the gate L may be adjusted, opened, andclosed with the greatest by the adjustment of the ways Pl the bearing`of the gate L on the chute-case M may bey lightened or eased, 'asrequired, and any foreign substance removed with facility from betweenthe gate L and chute-case M.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The socket h', se1ni-sphere fi, ring G, provided with'the inclinedsurfaces j, and frame v F, provided with the inclined surfaces la, incombination with the toothed segment H and pinion I, all arranged asshown, for the purpose of raising and lowering the wheel D and shaft E,as set forth.

2. TheV packing C' Awhen applied to the Wheel by means of the shoulder@of thel flange b of the case A, and the adjustable flange B,

connected to and arranged with flange b, as, shown, for the purpose ofexpanding the packing and fitting it snugly and water-tight around thewheel, as described.

3. The chutes K when constructed as shown and arranged relatively'withthe-buck ets h of the wheel D, to operate asandl for the purposespecified.

4. Thearrangement, with chute-case M, of

set forth.

5. The strips or cleats O, attached tothe lannular gate L, incombination with the adjustable ways P andfriction-rollers c', sub.-stantially as and for'the purpose set forth. 'II'IUS H. RUSSELL.

Witnesses:

DUDLEY C'. DENIsoN, E. F. PERKINS.

